From: McClatchy Newspapers
By Rob Hotakainen
WASHINGTON — Pop the corks: After years of talk and delay, a historic trade pact between the United States and South Korea kicks in Thursday, and officials predict it will increase wine exports from Washington state by 40 to 50 percent in the first year alone.
The reason: The Korean cuisine relies heavily on beef, and marketers expect Koreans will want a whole lot more of the state’s red wines now that a 15 percent tariff is getting scrapped.
From: AgWeek
One of the two proposed food safety regulations released by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration has a direct impact on farm-level
activities associated with the production of fruits and vegetables grown
for human consumption.
By: Daryll E. Ray and Harwood D. Schaffer
One of the two proposed food safety regulations released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a direct impact on farm-level activities associated with the production of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption.
From: Co.Exist
Precision farming–using sensors, automatic sprayers, and even drones and satellites–are letting farmers manage each plant in their fields perfectly, leading to farms that are much less resource intensive.
Michael J. Coren
Record-setting drought across the U.S. in recent years has pushed everyone to look for new ways to save water. So while nature and beer don’t always go together, it was natural for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to join forces with America’s beer brewers to change how farmer irrigate their crops. For the non-profit, conserving America’s rivers meant growing America’s barley, one of the primary ingredients in one of our favorite cold beverages, with less water.
From: Agricutlural Retailers Association
The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is now accepting nominations for the Agricultural Retailer of the Year Award. This award is sponsored by Monsanto Company, ARA and AgProfessional magazine and honors retailers who consistently exceed their customer’s expectations and serve as a positive example for other retailers through their outstanding, sustainable and innovative business practices.
From: CropLife
The Fertilizer Institute and Agricultural Retailers Association are encouraging fertilizer retailers to use the regulatory Compliance Assessment tool.
The following statement was released by W. Daren Coppock, president of the Agricultural Retailers Association and Ford B. West, president of The Fertilizer Institute:
“The fertilizer industry continues to extend its thoughts and prayers to the people of West, Texas, who are grieving for those in their town who were lost or injured. We are watching closely as investigators determine what happened and upon a final determination of cause by the Chemical Safety Board we will work together to identify and apply any lessons learned. While that investigation continues, we are reaffirming our commitment to safe operations of fertilizer facilities by alerting the industry to the availability of an important tool to support compliance with existing federal regulations and associated best management practices.
From: Southeast Farm Press
By Linda Geist, University of Missouri Extension
There is a simple, inexpensive way to reduce errors in herbicide applications and limit off-target chemical drift, says a University of Missouri Extension weed management specialist.
Kevin Bradley supports the ‘Flag the Technology’ program by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
The idea is simple: Color-coded bicycle flags or similar markers placed at field entrances or other conspicuous locations indicate the use of different herbicide technologies.
The system, which is gaining popularity in the Midwest, can make the difference between a healthy crop and a damaged or dead one.
From: USDA
Posted by Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer of the United States and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Last week, hundreds of innovators gathered at the World Bank IFC Center to brainstorm about how Open Data can be harnessed to help meet the challenge of sustainably feeding nine billion people by 2050. The group included delegates from the G-8 group of nations, US Government officials, private sector partners, Open Data advocates, technology experts, and nonprofit leaders – all participants in the first-of-its-kind G-8 International Conference on Open Data for Agriculture.
From: Cedar Valley Business
By JIM OFFNER
WATERLOO, Iowa — Some farm shows focus on the end user of tractors, seed or other agriculture equipment.
The 28th annual Agricultural Machinery Conference, scheduled for Monday through Wednesday at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center and adjacent Ramada Hotel, focuses on the innovations behind those products, organizers say.
“This conference is a little different than other trade shows in the area,” said Jim Evans, a product engineer with Deere & Co. in Waterloo who has served as chairman of the event for all three years it has been held in Waterloo after it moved from Cedar Rapids. “The targeted audience is engineers from the agricultural machinery industry.”
Ranking House Members Request Blue Ribbon Investigation of the West Texas Explosion.
See the attachment.
From: CropLife
Ag retailers offer their “can’t live without” apps in CropLife Media Group’s recent tablet use survey.
By Matt Hopkins
Our recent survey of more than 200 ag retailers on their tablet usage has unveiled several key findings (look for an article on tablet use trends soon). But perhaps what everyone wants to know is which apps are the most popular among these ag professionals. Well, you’re in luck. We asked participants to name the one app that is most indispensable for their work. While the responses varied widely, these 10 apps were most commonly listed as “can’t live without” by our survey respondents:
1. Weather. There are number of weather-related apps available for mobile devices, but perhaps the most popular is the one from The Weather Channel. This app combines interactive imagery with Weather Channel expertise. With more than 200 meteorologists and the ultra-local TruPoint forecasting technology, The Weather Channel app helps ag retailers plan their work day.
